Right now my buddies and I are stationed overseas in Germany, and we would like to start a Military MC. We are unsure as to the process to go through. We are already in contact with the local MC to make sure that we arn't stepping on any toes, and we all know that as a Military MC we will NOT hold any teritory. My questions are do we have to be AMA sponsored? Does our bottom rocker have to say "military", "veteran", "brotherhood" or anything like that? All the help would be much apriciated. Thanks guys

 

Either join these guys or they would know the best way to start.

Thank you for serving and sacrificing for me.

http://www.militaryveteransmc.com/Chapters.html

http://www.rcvsmc.net/

 

Subscribed.
yep, we are looking for advice. Hopefully from members of Veteran/ Military MCs. We are not looking for the "should we/ should we not debate" but rather the proper steps (does a Veteran/ Military MC need to go the AMA route?! And if so why?)
Thank you in advance for your support and help!

 

We followed the SOPs.

http://www.rcvsmc.net/id16.html

 

I'm in Germany, and in an MC called Green Knights. The club is for military members in and around military bases world wide. Go to http://www.eifelriders.com/ for info or Face Book.

You can start your own Chapter, we're chapter 27.

Hope that helps!

 

For F sake - look. thank you for taking the time to respond all. But as stated above, we ARE in contact with the MCs. And we are looking to start our OWN club. we looked around, saw alot of the other Military/ Veteran Clubs (including the Green knights) and thank you, but no thank you we wish to continue doing our own thing.
What would be helpful is if HarleyLew could tell us if the GKMC went through the AMA, as THAT is something we are running in circles trying to figure out. or anyone from any other Mil/ Vet MC.
Thank you for your time.

 

Write your by-laws, develop your patch, get a patent apllication started on your patch and start riding. If anybody gets pissed off, they will let you know.

Your by laws have to be particular in a military club because of the turn over rate. Are you going to allow them to start new chapters or remove their colors when they leave? That sort of thing...

 

No AMA required to start any club, military or other. However, your local dominant MC may decide y'all need to do the AMA-thing. Varies from state to state, and from area to area within some states.

Your patch will be vetted by the local MC organization. What they say goes, whether it's telling you you'll run a 1-piece patch, 2-piece patch, or whatever.

Your situation is complicated by being overseas. If the powers that be on that side of the pond don't mind yet another vet club, what are you going to do when you rotate state-side? Your club may not be welcomed with open arms in some areas, simply because there are already an over-abundance of vet and vet-related clubs in a particular area. Essentially, your club will cease to exist until you repeat the steps you've already gone through while in Germany.

An exception might be if your Germany process includes the dominant that will be in your local U.S. area. But even then, local chapters don't always feel bound by what another local chapter decides. What works near a base in Oklahoma doesn't necessarily work near a base in Texas, even though the dominants are likely to be the same.

And before the usual chest-thumpers come out with their usual blather about rights, etc., no one is saying anyone does not have the right to start whatever they want, wherever they want, and to wear whatever they want. It's about being a part of the motorcycling community, supporting each other, whether through supporting fundraisers, charity events, or the struggle for rights.

A question - When y'all come back stateside, where will you be stationed?

 

Keep your inquiries focused local and you will be fine. Asking for opinions, process, procedure, etc. on the internet will be confusing as nothing is consistant city to city much less Germany to the US as Poco says. Get out and find any patch holder in your current area and open up discussion/discovery with them about how to proceed building your club.
FYI, one reason some here are respectfully pointing you toward joining established clubs is a very large number of clubs fail or members quit within 3 years time. You have a much better chance of survival if you have experienced members. 9 of 10 state they wanted to do their own thing, but cant define what that really is... only to find out other clubs have what they couldnt build. Good luck.

 

Cruising through AMA's website - I believe affiliation is "optional" so it's your choice to contact them, or not (1-800-AMA-JOIN). I say get yourself established w/all the club/org rules/requirements & if AMA has any problems - they'll contact you (unlikely) so should be good to go...